Ex-Bethlehem official a candidate for probation program

Bethlehem's longtime planning director has been recommended for a first-time offenders program on charges he hit a city police officer with his pickup truck and drove down a closed street packed with Liberty High School students lining up for a parade.

District Attorney John Morganelli said he signed off on Samuel A. Guttman's application for Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition, a probationary program for first-time nonviolent offenders, only after officer Ken Jones and one person in the "danger zone" said they were OK with it.

"I thought it was appropriate for ARD," Morganelli said. "Luckily, no one was injured."

Guttman, 64, faced charges that include two felony counts of aggravated assault and five misdemeanors. A county judge must still approve Guttman for the state program, under which he would avoid a criminal record.

Guttman was arrested Sept. 27, the day the Celtic Fest parade was held, after police said he drove around two barricades and told Jones to move 100 or so band members so he could park near his E. Church Street antique shop. Guttman was accused of bumping Jones in the back with his truck and continuing to drive down the street, causing students and parents to scatter as Jones wrestled with him.

Under the ARD program, a first-offender acknowledges wrongdoing, but does not enter a guilty plea. Defendants must complete a period of probation and community service and pay fines and court costs.